


Retreating and Regrets

by RabbitsAreAwesome



Series: whumptober 2020 [5]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Blood and Injury, Gen, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Rated M for Safety, Where do you think you're going?, Whumptober 2020, actually no please follow the speed limits, characters may be ooc, dimitri and byleth are not the focus, i bend the prompt a little but i mean... prompts are like speed limits, i forget what constitutes the ratings here and i haven't bothered to look it up again, implied relationship can be read as gen tho, just make sure to read the tags, they suggestions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:21:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitsAreAwesome/pseuds/RabbitsAreAwesome
Summary: Ferdinand von Aegir sat upon his steed overlooking the Great Bridge of Myrddin. He and Ladislava had spent weeks preparing for this battle. It would be a decisive battle and would have great repercussions on the Empire should he fall here. But no, there was no time for that. Ferdinand had to prove himself here. He would ensure the Bridge would not fall.The Kingdom army was due any moment now. Ferdinand had heard that the Prince of Faerghus was more beast than man. Ferdinand decided that the greatest mercy for him would be to be put down like the rabid dog he became.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir & Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand/Hubert (implied)
Series: whumptober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950856
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Retreating and Regrets

Ferdinand von Aegir sat upon his steed overlooking the Great Bridge of Myrddin. He and Ladislava had spent weeks preparing for this battle. It would be a decisive battle and would have great repercussions on the Empire should he fall here. But no, there was no time for that. Ferdinand _had_ to prove himself here. He would ensure the Bridge would not fall. 

The Kingdom army was due any moment now. Ferdinand had heard that the Prince of Faerghus was more beast than man. Ferdinand decided that the greatest mercy for him would be to be put down like the rabid dog he became. 

The horn sounded from across the Bridge. The Kingdom had arrived. 

Ferdinand ordered his men to hold their positions and wait to see how their defense at the entrance held up. It was mere moments when an infantry unit came rushing towards Ferdinand explaining that the front had been torn through both by a beastly man with monstrous strength and another saintly figure with a whip-like sword. 

It seemed like the Professor really had returned. 

It was imperative that all go well here for the Empire. Ferdinand wouldn’t lose regardless of who he was fighting. If the front had been bested so easily it was time to ready himself to join the fight. Ferdinand led his steed and his men to the main part of the Bridge. There he really began to understand the full extent of the Kingdom’s might. 

Magical blasts of fire and wind and lighting caused a charge to fill the air that had nothing to do with the sounds of screams and yells and shouts. The clashing of blades and axes and lances along with the sounds of wyverns and horses and men created a music only produced when two opposing ideals clashed after words failed. 

Ferdinand stared at the battlefield assessing the situation quickly. It does no one any good to be standing idle so he led his horse in a light gallup as he tried to place all of the Kingdom’s soldiers. He noticed Ingrid and Cyril airborne upon their mounts. He saw Ashe, Dedue and Annette leading an assault against the demonic beast. 

Ferdinand continued to lead his horse across the battlefield, his own lance having pierced any enemy who dared to get too close. It was in one of these moments, his lance cleaning slicing through a swordsman’s armor that his eyes came across the Professor following closely behind a figure Ferdinand could barely recognize as Prince Dimitri. The Professor seemed to be trying to rein in Dimitri’s reckless fighting. He was a whirlwind of jabs and stabs and slashes with his legendary weapon. 

Ferdinand made the mistake of watching the Prince for too long, for once Dimitri cleared his immediate area of enemies, the two locked eyes. The one remaining blue eye upon the Prince’s face was wild and his face was that of a mad man. He smirked at Ferdinand and with a roar unlike anything the noble had heard, he charged.

Ferdinand took one more second to look around the chaos of the battlefield before he realized that the fight was lost. He heard a voice in the back of his mind telling him to flee that if he ran now while he could, then he would live to fight another day, but if he fled now, the men and women upon the bridge would fall. 

Ferdinand was in charge of these troops. He would not abandon them. If he could give them a chance to flee from this, to go and support the Empire elsewhere. Then he’d do everything he could. 

“Retreat!” Ferdinand gave the command. 

Many of the men turned tail and ran. Ferdinand followed them for as long as he could. He met with Ladislava at the end of the Bridge.

“Why did you order the retreat!? We had this battle.” Ladislava demanded. 

“No, we are losing. We are losing and these men were placed in my care and I will not allow them to keep fighting a losing battle. Their lives must have more value than that. You should leave while you can.” 

“I won’t leave you here to die a martyr's death alone.” 

The two generals stood side by side as the Kingdom army swept through those who were too slow or too prideful to retreat. Some were even doing the very thing Ferdinand was. They were dying so that others could live. 

The Professor and the Prince came straight to the two Empire generals. The Professor opened their mouth to say something but Dimitri cut them off.

“You two, dogs of the Empress, I will have your heads too!” 

That was all it took for the clashing of weapons to ring out. Ferdinand faced the deranged Prince and Ladislava faced the Professor. It was a short and decisive battle. The two generals stood no chance against the two relics. 

Ferdinand knew that when he refused to retreat with the others. He knew that when the Hero’s lance upon contact of his own, shattered the silver lance within his hands. He knew that when the lance pierced his chest and knocked him off his horse impaling him into the ground. 

He knew he failed when the lance was ripped out and he took one last shuddering breath. 

* * *

Hubert hasn’t been pacing. No, he’s been perfectly calm and collected. He’s ready to serve Lady Edelgard however she requires of him. To say that he was _worried_ over the report that was supposed to come in a week ago regarding the battle at the Bridge of Myrddin was an incorrect assessment. 

It should have arrived a week ago. _A week ago_ . The fact that there hasn’t been a report yet has caused Hubert to consider the unlikely probability that the Bridge fell. That with it, no, the red-headed fool was an imbecile but he wasn’t stupid. If the battle was terrible, he would have escaped. He _had to_ have escaped. That’s why it was taking so long. 

Yes. He was coming to deliver the report himself. He was injured maybe but he had to be alive. 

Hubert didn’t want to consider the alternative. 

Sure he and Ferdinand fought, they fought all the time, but it was more of a front now, a habit born from years of doing it. They were close. And that was that Hubert was willing to admit to himself. He sure didn’t let Ferdinand know that at least not verbally. Ferdinand had grown used to his nature and became exceedingly good at reading him. But no one else knew, or if they did they didn’t voice it for fear of what Hubert would do to them if so much as a rumour started. 

He’s done worse for less. 

By the time the report had actually arrived, by a shaken messenger no less, the men from the Bridge of Myrddin had taken refuge at Fort Merceus. The generals stationed at the bridge died so that the others could escape. 

Hubert did not allow any of his visible reactions to show upon hearing the news. Even so, Lady Edelgard gave him a flimsy excuse to leave her side and he did so willingly. It wasn’t until he was tucked away in his room that a shout escaped his throat and a wild blast of dark magic hit his wall that he finally fell to his knees and regretted not saying something to the infuriating redhead. 

Anything. 

He would give to say anything to him. 

**Author's Note:**

> day five done, this one is not as long as the others but it fits the bill for my personal word count goals of 1000-3000 words. I find myself getting more and more into the challenge as I go along. I sadly suffer and wade through college education system so I find myself repeatedly having more work get piled on to an already large pile of stuff so hopefully I can afford to put as much time and effort into every prompt so that they meet my own personal bar. I hope you enjoy this story and I hope you stick around for the challenge.


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